Photographer Bart Heynen set out across the untry to make a visual archive of gay fatherhood "Dads."
Contents:
- ‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD
- MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI
- DAD AND DAD: A JOURNEY TO GAY FATHERHOOD – PICTUR
‘A FAY LIKE OURS’: PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERHOOD
* gay dads and lads *
Heynen planned to photograph for a book of photography featurg gay fathers and their children. ”Amerin culture has not been particularly starved of imag of gay fatherhood, particularly recent years. Celebri like Anrson Cooper have helped normalize the ia of gay men raisg children, and no longer feels revelatory to see them on televisn, as did when “Morn Fay” premiered mon, Mr.
Heynen said, are imag of gay fathers who aren’t Instagram ready — like two men bg their dghters’ hair or tossg a football the ont yard. It’s an unrstandable impulse, which he attribut to a sire among gay parents to feel “normal” after havg their pabili as parents ntually lled to qutn. Heynen said, but rather a celebratn of the day-to-day liv of gay Jt for the YoungCly Rose, 61, and Ryan, 12Cly Rose, who liv Manhattan, was first photographed for “Dads” three years ago after meetg Mr.
MOVG PORTRAS OF GAY FATHERS WH THEIR FAI ACROSS AMERI
Heynen at an event at the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgenr Communy Center New York Cy.
Heynen “a lot of cred” for cludg a father like him — a sgle dad his 60s — sce he said there is often a lack of reprentatn of olr gay people art and media, which tends to foc on young, f men.
As a Black, gay man raisg a son on his own, Mr.
DAD AND DAD: A JOURNEY TO GAY FATHERHOOD – PICTUR
Such a photograph would have been extraordarily rare jt s ago, but now is one of many published the book “Dads, ” a four-year visual archive of gay fatherhood across Ameri that began 2016.
“I felt a ltle b lonely as a gay dad – although there are two of – but lonely the sense that all the other fai I knew were straight parents, ” Heynen said a vio ll, explag why he began photographg the seri. “I also thought was important for (my kids) to see other fai wh gay dads. “For many people, the book will be an troductn to gay fatherhood.
For Heynen, they reprent addnal love and re and help illtrate some of the cisn-makg that, though not exclive to them, all gay fathers mt ntend wh. “Most of the women are Mormon, and Mormons don’t believe gay marriage and gays havg kids. Heynen, as well as the fathers he photographed, hope that the photographs “Dads” will dispel some of the hurtful stereotyp that still lger around gay fatherhood.